Nurses on the Frontlines of Coronavirus Pandemic Demand More Protection & Medicare for All

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has passed 1,000 Tuesday, with the rate of infections likely increasing. Despite this, the U.S. continues to lag on testing, and healthcare workers say they lack adequate protection and protocols to allow them to safely care for infected patients.

They also say the country’s hospitals are woefully unprepared to handle the crisis. Nurses in the hot zones of California and Washington had already reported having to beg for face masks and lacking guidance on how to address the virus.

Democracy Now! is joined by Jean Ross, president of National Nurses United, the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States, which says Centers for Disease Control actually weakened its guidelines on responding to the pandemic by rolling back requirements for protective gear, not requiring infected patients to be in negative pressure isolation rooms at all times, and decreasing healthcare worker protections.

In response, nurses with the NNU are holding a national day of action today to demand better protections for healthcare workers and the public.

DN is also joined by Alicia Garza with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Black Futures Lab, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, and Naomi Klein, senior correspondent at The Intercept and the inaugural Gloria Steinem chair of media, culture and feminist studies at Rutgers University.

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González.

Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues.

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode? Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change.

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV , AppleTV, Roku, Sling and online at freespeech.org.